Some people have asked me, “Why do you think God healed your heart and helped you move forward so quickly when He tarries so long in answering other people’s prayers?” I’ll let you in on a secret. It was not “quickly”. For 15 years I struggled and prayed for the blessings God has only recently gifted me. Fifteen long, and often very painful years.
That’s a lot of anguished prayers, ya’ll.
Now, let me be clear. I did the work. After my ex and I separated I worked incredibly hard and underwent a six week course of very intense forgiveness prayers, Emotional Freedom Technique or “Tapping Therapy”, and I had three separate counselors I met with weekly, each one focusing on a different area of necessary healing. And I’d had consistent counseling throughout the 15 years of struggle and anguished praying.
It was hard work. Constant praying through. Continuously making lemonade out of lemons. Perpetually waging spiritual war to maintain a measure of peace in an incredibly difficult decade and a half. It was a whole heck of a lot of good old fashioned HARD WORK. And it was very painful a whole lot of the time.
Only those closest to me knew the depths of my suffering. And each of these special ladies celebrated with me when I was untethered.
But ya’ll. It wasn’t “quick”.
Often we see the blessings and the victories others experience without having an inkling of the work done to get there. And let me tell you- EVERY chain loosed is work. EVERY victory is work. Every single step forward out of suffering takes incredible commitment and a whole lot of old fashioned hard and holy labor. Uphill both ways.
Yes, God IS faithful- and I will shout this truth from the mountaintops. I got through those long 15 years ONlY by His grace, only by His strength and only by His healing power.
If you want a different life, know it will take a great deal of Spiritual Elbow Grease. God helps His children wage war on the enemy and stand firm– but we have to COMMIT to do the work.
It’s not easy. But freedom is worth the work. It’s not 10 Easy Steps to Victory, although we wish it could be.
Every freedom gained is HARD won. The best blessing in life don’t come quickly. They are borne out of the daily grind of taking every thought captive and simply being obedient to walk where God calls. His blessings often look different than what we expect but His ways are always best.
Maybe you think God is tarrying too long in answering your prayers. But His timing is perfect. Our lives are so connected to others that it takes time for God to bring all hearts and all resources into alignment with His plans and purposes.
But God’s blessings, when they come, are beyond all we can ask, imagine, or think up ourselves.
Quick? No. Easy? Absolutely NOT. But SO incredibly worth the waiting and the ALL that hard work.